When planning our year in Australia, we were determined to stay and experience a hot Christmas. The end of the school year, Kent's birthday, packing and Christmas have all run together again this year and, with the hot weather, it was easy to forget that Christmas was even on the way.
There are a few houses around Griffith with Christmas lights on display. It's been hard to stay up late enough to view them because the sun stays up so late but it's certainly worth it! Our principal and one of Khye's classmates, Jaxon, have the best and brightest displays around. They do look different without snow to cover the yards, cords and frost the lights but I'm sure they're much easier to hang when your fingers aren't frozen solid!
There was no Christmas concert at school but we did have two huge end of year presentations days at the Regional Theatre. You can find photos of the concerts under the GEPS heading. Santa also made an appearance at the K-2 disco on the second last day of school. He brought ice blocks (Freezies) for all the kids. With our busy sports schedule, we never did make it to see the Santa at the mall.
Our Christmas eve was spent mostly at home. We dashed to town in the morning to finish our last minute errands and to close Aussie bank accounts, etc. By the time we arrived home after lunch, the temperature had reached 39C. Even with our air conditioning, it was too hot to pack! The boys laid around watching Christmas movies and the adults had a nap. By 4:00 pm, it was time to start packing! That was ok for a few hours but then we had to get ready for Santa. The stockings were hung and cookies and milk were set out for Santa.
Christmas Day was the normal early morning chaos mixed with phone calls from home. The temperature was a comfortable 30C. We spent the first half of our afternoon with our friends Cass, Cook, Ruth, Ardy and the boys. Cass and Ruth prepared a delicious traditional Christmas meal and then the boys played cricket in their garden. Not the ususal Christmas day activities but very fun, all the same!
We popped by the Irvins to drop off some gifts and to say our goodbyes. Their boys got a slug gun for Christmas so our boys all had a go too. Then there were more sad goodbyes.
Our last Christmas destination was the Bennett home. Jamie and Louise hosted an all day party with a mix of their two families and our friends. There was a serious game of Bocce ball, swimming in the pool, video games, tennis, trampolining and lots of visiting. And the food just kept coming!
So, while the weather and social activities were a bit different this year, the visiting and food were similar. Spending time with our friends was the best plan too. Thank you to the Turner/Cook and Bennett families for hosting us for our 1st hot Aussie Christmas! xx
There are a few houses around Griffith with Christmas lights on display. It's been hard to stay up late enough to view them because the sun stays up so late but it's certainly worth it! Our principal and one of Khye's classmates, Jaxon, have the best and brightest displays around. They do look different without snow to cover the yards, cords and frost the lights but I'm sure they're much easier to hang when your fingers aren't frozen solid!
There was no Christmas concert at school but we did have two huge end of year presentations days at the Regional Theatre. You can find photos of the concerts under the GEPS heading. Santa also made an appearance at the K-2 disco on the second last day of school. He brought ice blocks (Freezies) for all the kids. With our busy sports schedule, we never did make it to see the Santa at the mall.
Our Christmas eve was spent mostly at home. We dashed to town in the morning to finish our last minute errands and to close Aussie bank accounts, etc. By the time we arrived home after lunch, the temperature had reached 39C. Even with our air conditioning, it was too hot to pack! The boys laid around watching Christmas movies and the adults had a nap. By 4:00 pm, it was time to start packing! That was ok for a few hours but then we had to get ready for Santa. The stockings were hung and cookies and milk were set out for Santa.
Christmas Day was the normal early morning chaos mixed with phone calls from home. The temperature was a comfortable 30C. We spent the first half of our afternoon with our friends Cass, Cook, Ruth, Ardy and the boys. Cass and Ruth prepared a delicious traditional Christmas meal and then the boys played cricket in their garden. Not the ususal Christmas day activities but very fun, all the same!
We popped by the Irvins to drop off some gifts and to say our goodbyes. Their boys got a slug gun for Christmas so our boys all had a go too. Then there were more sad goodbyes.
Our last Christmas destination was the Bennett home. Jamie and Louise hosted an all day party with a mix of their two families and our friends. There was a serious game of Bocce ball, swimming in the pool, video games, tennis, trampolining and lots of visiting. And the food just kept coming!
So, while the weather and social activities were a bit different this year, the visiting and food were similar. Spending time with our friends was the best plan too. Thank you to the Turner/Cook and Bennett families for hosting us for our 1st hot Aussie Christmas! xx
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